Peach-Blueberry Buttermilk Tea Cake

Peach-Blueberry Buttermilk Teacake

A kind man with an Italian name, reflective sunglasses, and a seat belt strapped securely across his chest recently posted a picture of his peach and blueberry yogurt cake on my Facebook page for Farmers’ Market Desserts. It made me hungry.

I had peaches. I had blueberries. I had yogurt. And I had an appetite. So I thought I’d see what I could concoct.

I was thinking of basing my cake on the Cornmeal Cake with Fresh Corn and Berries in FMD, but I made that recently and felt like something a little different. My next thought was the Late Summer Plum Cake I posted last summer on this blog. That cake already has sour cream and fruit, so it seemed like a good place to start. It also uses lemon verbena, which I adore, and which is growing enthusiastically in my herb garden.

I am in the middle of an intensive project and short on time, so I made the cake as simply as I could, substituting oil for the butter (and not as much). Since I had buttermilk on hand, I thought I’d use that and hold onto the yogurt.

This cake is the result. It’s more of a tea cake than something you would serve for dessert, really: gently sweet, full of fruit flavor, with nubby texture from the stone-ground cornmeal. It’s perfect with a cup of tea for breakfast, or for a mid-morning or late night snack. Or all three, as it served well today. It’s a keeper. I hope you will give it a try, too.

Thank you, Gianluca!

Peach-Blueberry Buttermilk Tea Cake
 
I baked this cake at 325"F in a convection oven for 35 minutes; it was done perfectly and still very moist. I expect it would take a few minutes longer at 350 without convection. Keep an eye on it and decide for yourself.
Author:
Recipe type: Cakes and Cookies
Makes: 9 to 12 servings
What You'll Need
  • 2 large or 3 small to medium peaches, peels on or off (I left them on), cut into approximately ½-inch pieces
  • 1 cup blueberries
  • Leaves from a sprig (about 5 inches) of lemon verbena, chopped (about 1 teaspoon)
  • 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon brown sugar (or granulated sugar, or a squirt of honey), to your taste
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup white whole wheat flour (or another ½ cup all-purpose)
  • ½ cup stone-ground cornmeal
  • 1½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 large eggs
  • ¾ cup buttermilk
  • ⅓ cup wildflower honey, or your favorite varietal
  • ¼ cup canola oil
  • ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
What To Do
  1. Preheat the oven to 350"F with a rack in the center position. Oil an 8-inch square baking dish.
  2. Put the fruit in a bowl with the lemon verbena and sugar. Stir to coat the fruit. Let the flavors mingle while you continue on.
  3. Whisk the flour(s), cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and soda in a small bowl to combine them well.
  4. Whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, honey, oil, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Stir in the flour mixture until completely combined, no longer. Fold in the fruit with a spatula.
  5. Pour and spread the mixture evenly into the prepared pan and bake until the cake is light golden on top and tests clean with a toothpick near the center, 40 to 45 minutes.
  6. Let cool in the pan on a rack for at least 30 minutes before digging in.

Peach-Blueberry Buttermilk Teacake

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